The Great War: Return
Return Finally, the tide of the Great War had fully turned for the civilized world. Yet there were still many clans willing to rage and wage war against the west. In the south, Detmanth was still controlled by the Ûr, but for how long? The Crucifixions There was still a relatively large force in Detmanth. They had lost many in Surrin, but somehow they were still powerful. As it turned out, most of the reserves from Caer Ddaden, Vaddoren and Thangku’Ur had transported to Detmanth in the same way they had gotten there in the first place. The Ûr lords would corrupt and soil the southeast if nowhere else. Thang-Gwr was now at Detmanth as well, and he was not done yet wreaking havoc across the face of Eirethune. Thang-Gwr took most of his army and drove them into the Smothe and south. He knew that neither the Smothe, Osebb, the Green Cities or Eastlom could be reinforced while he ravaged what he could of the areas. For any hamlet or town they could take quickly, for any settlement they found with a living being, the Ûr summoned an earth dolmen for crucifixion1. Thousands of citizens of the Smothe, Osebb and Udbotsi were slaughtered ceremonially, in supplication to demons and lords of un-life. The army of Thang-Gwr was becoming stronger by enriching its ranks with not only demonic powers and shields, but also with mutations that made the army more horrible than had previously been encountered 2. However, as Thang-Gwr laid waste to the south, the armies of Teldor, Aden Shahn, Bavarin, Angleside and the Southland had regrouped and were assaulting Detmanth. There would be no holds barred in their assault; it was finally time to wrest the ancient hold from the Ûr lords, once and for all. Tong Fahngorg, a half-giant from the Mote, was the first to smash through the main gates of Detmanth3, followed by a vanguard of well-shielded warriors slashing their way to the center of the complex where the Gate Artifice lay. No more would the Ûr be able to escape once they destroyed the gate. There were explosions and many deaths, but in the end the Gate Artifice was destroyed and the Ûr would be forced to fight their way back to their homeland. When Thang-Gwr returned to Detmanth, the western armies immediately engaged him in what would be known as the Battle of the Crucifixions. Terrible destruction was done to the mountains all around the House of Detmanth as demons and elementals and spirits fought the living and the un-living, in a maelstrom of complete chaos. By the end, however, the Ûr were forced to retreat out of the Barrier Mountains, and to the north, towards the Adzdor Peaks, where they regrouped. Both sides had lost thousands, but the Ûr were gravely weakened, and the western armies would still press on. Thang-Gwr was still alive, as was a relatively large portion of his force, but most of his demon mutants had been lost. There would be no safe haven for Thang-Gwr in Eirethune. The Voids On the northern continent, Thearth had been saved. Now an invigorated King Joachim regrouped the combined armies in the Balmorien plains and planned to head north. He also sent word to the east, so that the armies that had just removed the Ûr threat from Thangku’Ur were notified. It was time for both armies to move north and challenge the Ûr directly. The northern steppes are the heartland of the Ûr, and they prize their autonomy there greatly. There would be no invaders from the feeble south entering their home. The clans mustered what they could, which was still formidable, and regrouped in the center plains where Thab Nardiak once stood. Sacrifices were made, rituals performed, the sky and ground opened up to bring forth whatever minions and beasts the Ûr lords could still summon. From there they headed southwest to engage the invaders of their land. Before the western forces could reach the holds of Kharin and Kazden Dûn, the Ûr lords attacked. All manner of demon, spirit or unimaginable beast was amid the Ûr army, slashing, spewing, casting and tearing the world asunder before their foes. The battle was horrific, with many thousands engaged and falling. It was starting to appear that the Ûr might be able to force back the armies of the west, but they did not count on the power that the arch mages of the great guilds could muster on their own. The arch mage, Irbannen Ufstaign,4 was a great scholar and manipulator of the planes of existence. He had been working on his own doomsday ritual that would cost him and his servants their lives, but it would save their armies by ending the otherworldly threat. Irbannen was able to create interdimensional vacuums where he and his acolytes directed. These vacuums drew creatures into the void between planes, but those creatures which were visitors to the plane would be more susceptible. The holes to the voids hovered above the army, while creatures of all types were drawn into the sky, slowly being elevated until they disappeared into the voids. The demons and undead were the first to go, but creatures mutated with demonic or necromantic powers were absorbed as well. Before the remaining combatants were cast as well into the void, Irbannen and his acolytes finished their rituals, and they were cast into the voids themselves, closing the gates behind them. There were still plenty of combatants on both sides, but the battle was greatly in favor of the western armies, who spent no time continuing to dispatch the Ûr who opposed them. After the battle, King Joachim withdrew and regrouped, to ready themselves for the final battles that would follow. Links Chronology of Eirethune Previous, The Great War: Plunge Next, The Great War: Silence Notes 1 The crucifixion dolmens were mostly destroyed after the Great War, however, every major town in the Smothe still has a dolmen in their central market square to remember what was done. There are often offerings placed by the dolmens, and it is common to see someone from the Smothe praying at a dolmen. Often, when there is a Ur raid leader which has been caught by defenders of the Smothe, they will crucify them on the dolmen. It is believed that each evil soul killed on the dolmen will free a spirit that was lost to the Ur during the Great War. 2 Several of the blood guards of Thang-Gwr sacrificed themselves by becoming demon mutations. Over a period of time, the guards would gain more and more mutations and powers, but ultimately, the guard would no longer remember who they were, just that they were servants of un-life and destruction. When the guards were brought down, however, they would liquify into a viscous, black ooze, and quickly dissipate. It is said that Thang-Gwr put this (d)evolution ability into several circlets. Several were found by the western forces, but it is possible that some may still be found near Detmanth. 3 The Hammer of Tong Fahngorg ''was a massive war hammer which Tong swung continuously around him. While he did so, it appeared that nothing could affect him, and enemies would be repulsed violently away, even without directly hitting them. The hammer also cracked the great iron doors of Detmanth with one smash. Tong did not die at the ''Battle of the Crucifixions but he fell later in the ''Battle of No Solace ''in the Wedyn Hills of Balmorien. 4 Irbannen was a scholar in Glen Ar, a great mage and mentor to any at the temple to Mata. He knew and traveled much in the planes, and he had a great and loyal following that often traveled with him as well. There are great records of his rituals in the libraries of Glen Ar, but it appears that the records of what was involved in the creation of the Voids was not found. There is, however, a belief that Irbannen may have hid the description of the records in another plane that could be accessed from the guild at Glen Ar, though no one has done so as of yet.